Joey Luther

Senior Scientist

Dr. Joseph Luther obtained B.S. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University in 2001. Under the direction of Prof. Salah Bedair, he studied III-V semiconductors for white light emitting diodes and tandem junction solar cells. His interest in photovoltaics sent him to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to pursue graduate work. He obtained his Masters in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado while studying deep-level defects in bulk semiconductors at NREL in the Measurements and Characterization department. He then moved into the field of Nanoscience for his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Colorado School of Mines under the direction of Dr. Arthur Nozik in NREL's Basic Sciences division. Here, he developed a new architecture of PV devices employing a single layer of electronically coupled nanocrystals as the active absorber. He then worked as a postdoctoral scholar in the group of Paul Alivisatos at the University of California and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to study synthesis and chemical transformation of uniquely shaped colloidal nanocrystals for various applications. In 2009, he rejoined NREL as a senior research scientist.